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Mock Turtle Cookies
Mock Turtle Cookies Mock Turtle Cookies is the sixth recipe featured in Cherry Cheesecake Murder Do not preheat oven - dough must chill before baking. Ingredients * 1-1/2 sticks chilled butter (3/4 cup) * 2 cups flour * 3/4 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli's semi-sweet) * 1 egg, beaten * approximately 3 dozen Kraft caramels (the soft kind that's individually wrapped - they're about a half inch square) Directions * Cut the butter into 12 pieces and place them in a work bowl. With two forks, mix in the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Continue mixing until the dough is crumbly. (Hannah's Note: You can also do this in a food processor with the steel blade the same way you'd mix piecrust. It's a lot easier that way.) * Melt the chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl (I use a glass measuring cup) for 40 seconds on HIGH. Stir them to see if they're melted. (Chocolate chips may maintain their shape until they're stirred.) If they're not melted, microwave them in 20-second intervals until they are. * Add the melted chips to the dough mixture. Stir (or process, if you've used a food processor) until the chocolate is mixed in and the crumbly dough is a uniform color. Beat the egg in a small cup or bowl and add it to the work bowl. Mix it in (or process with the steel blade) until a soft, piecrust-type dough results. * Divide the dough into four equal parts. Tear off four pieces of wax paper about a foot and a half long. You'll use these to hold your dough when you roll it out. Turn a piece of wax paper so that the long side faces you and place on piece of dough in the center. Using your hands, roll the dough into a log that's approximately 12 inches long and 3/4 inch thick. Do the same for the three remaining pieces of dough. * Wrap the rolls in the wax paper used used to roll them and put them into a freezer bag. Freeze them for an hour or two until firm. (Overnight is fine, too.) * When you're ready to bake, take out the dough and let t warm up on the counter for fifteen minutes. Then preheat the oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position. * Unwrap a roll of dough and cut it into 3/4 inch pieces with a sharp knife. Place the pieces cut side down on a greased, or parchment-covered cookie sheet, 12 pieces to a stand-sized sheet. * Unwrap 6 caramels and cut them in half. I find this is easiest if you dip the blades of your kitchen scissors in water and then cut the caramels with the scissors. * Press a half caramel into the center of each chocolate cookie. Be careful not to press it all the way to the bottom. (If the dough is still too cold to press in the caramels, let it warm up a bit more and try again.) Make sure your caramels are surrounded by cookie dough and won't melt over the sides of the cookies when they bake. * Bake each pan of cookies at 325 degrees F., for approximately 15 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Let the cookies cool for a minute or two on the pan and then remove them to a wire rack to complete cooling. * When all the cookies are baked and cooled, spread foil or waxed paper under the wire rack containing the cookies and prepare to glaze them. (I use extra-wide foil because it's easy to crimp up the edges and make it into a disposable drip pan.) Chocolate Glaze Ingredients * 1/3 cup water * 1/3 cup light corn syrup (I used Karo) * 1 cup white (granulated) sugar * 1-1/3 cup milk chocolate chips (8 ounces - I use Ghiradelli's) * Approximately 6 dozen pecan halves Chocolate Glaze Directions * Measure out the chips and put them in a small bowl so they're ready to add when it's time. * In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and white sugar. Place the saucepan on high heat, and STIRRING CONSTANTLY, bring the contents to a boil. Boil for 15 seconds, still STIRRING CONSTANTLY, and pull it off the heat. * Dump in the chips, all at once, and poke them down until almost all of them are covered by the hot syrup mixture. Let the saucepan sit on a cold burner (or on a pad on the counter) ''for 2-1/2 minutes. * Gently stir the mixture with a whisk ''(a fork will also work) until it's almost completely smooth. Be careful not to whisk in air, or you'll get bubbles. * Set the glaze down on a potholder next to your cookies. Spoon a little over the top of each cookie and let it drizzle down the sides. (You can also pour it over the cookies, but that's a little hard to do.) When you're all through, top each cookie with a pecan half, making sure the nut sticks to the chocolate glaze. * Leave the cookies on the wire rack until the glaze has hardened. This will take approximately 30 minutes. Then eat and enjoy! Lisa's Note''' ' When I'm in a hurry and don't have time to glaze the cookies, I just sprinkle them with a little powdered sugar, serve them with chocolate ice cream, and call it a day. Hannah's Note' ' Norman says to warn any friends with temporary fillings that the caramels in the center of these cookies are chewy. Another Note' ''' You can store these cookies in a box lined with wax paper in the refrigerator, but take them out at least thirty minutes before you serve them so that the caramel in the center will soften and not break a tooth! Yield Approximately 6 dozen very tasty cookies.